Education Coalition voices opposition to School Choice

Advocates for public schools gathered at the state capitol Monday to re-state their opposition to voucher legislation.

Members of a group called Coalition for Public Schools gathered at the state capitol and called on lawmakers to stop trying to re-package school voucher proposals. They believe voucher programs will do more harm than good,  especially at a time when there is considerable debate over how to reform the funding model for public education.

"A rose by another name is as sweet, it has been said . A voucher by another name is still a thorn in the side of taxpayers whose tax dollars would be diverted away from the public trust and used for another purpose with no accountability. There is only one education budget in the state of Texas, and Texans cannot afford to pay for two systems -- one for over 90% of the students in the state , and another for affluent families who want a break on sending their kids to a private school,” said Charles Luke with the Coalition for Public schools.

Coalition members held a symposium Monday for state lawmakers.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia offer some form of vouchers, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. Coalition members pointed out that academic studies show mixed classroom results regarding success of Private and Charter schools. It was claimed that test results in some cases can be similar to those of traditional public schools.